Episode 399. Eileen Farrell (Jane’s Divas II)
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Today, the day that we lay my beloved mother, Jane Elizabeth Herbst Gundlach, to rest, I offer another tribute to her memory by way of another favorite singer of hers, Eileen Farrell. My mother grew up hearing her on the radio, and when I was young we would often see her featured on the variety shows that were the typical fare of mid-1960s television. But even more than that, she was the soprano soloist on a recording of Messiah that my father brought as a gift for her when he returned from a summer away at seminary. I have once again chosen a program that allows me to share stories of special events in my mother’s life, some charming, some painful, but all of them reflective of the great love that bound us together as mother and son.
RECORDINGS HEARD IN THIS EPISODE
Edvard Grieg, Hans Christian Andersen: Jig elsker dig (Hjerts Melodier, Op. 5/3) [sung in English]. Eileen Farrell, Al Goodman and His Orchestra, Jimmy Wallington (announcer) [Texaco Star Theatre radio broadcast 12.XI.1944]
Giuseppe Verdi: Libera me [excerpt] (Messa da Requiem). Eileen Farrell, Thomas Schippers, Coro del Teatro Verdi [live Spoleto 1959]
Michael Praetorius, Theodore Baker [English words]: Lo, How a Rose e’er Blooming. Eileen Farrell, Leopold Stokowski, CBS Orchestra [radio broadcast 24.XII.1953]
George Frederic Handel, Biblical texts assembled by Charles Jennens: I Know that My Redeemer Liveth (Messiah). Eileen Farrell, Eugene Ormandy, Philadelphia Orchestra [1959]
Jerome Kern, Oscar Hammerstein II: All the Things You Are (Very Warm for May). Eileen Farrell [radio recording 1940s]
Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart: Where or When (Babes in Arms). Eileen Farrell, Percy Faith and His Orchestra [1962]
Harold Barlow: I’ve Got Tears in My Ears. Eileen Farrell, Jimmy Dean, arranged and conducted by Peter Matz [The Jimmy Dean Show, CBS-TV, first aired 03.XII.1965]
Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Ugo Castelnuovo-Tedesco: Ninna nanna, Op. 4. Eileen Farrell, George Trovillo [1963]
Gioachino Rossini, Francesco Berio di Salsa [after William Shakespeare]: Deh, calma, o Ciel, nel sonno (Otello). Eileen Farrell, Arnold Gamson, American Opera Society [live Carnegie Hall 10.X.1957]
Johann Sebastian Bach: Mein gläubiges Herze (Also hat Gott die Welt geliebt, BWV 68). Eileen Farrell, Robert Bloom, Maurice Wilk, Paul Ulanowsky, Bernard Greenhouse [1959]
Johann Sebastian Bach: Gott versorget alles Leben (Es wartet alles auf dich, BWV 187). Eileen Farrell, Robert Bloom, Paul Ulanowsky, Bernard Greenhouse [1959]
Franz Schubert, Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock: Dem Unendlichen, D. 291. Eileen Farrell, George Trovillo [1960]
Alfred Bachelet, Eugène Adénis-Colombeau: Chère nuit, Eileen Farrell, Walter Hatchek [live New Orleans 13.XII.1954]
Francis Poulenc, Louise de Vilmorin: Fleurs (Fiançailles pour rire, FP 101/6). Eileen Farrell, George Trovillo [1960]
Claude Debussy, Édouard Guinand: L’année en vain chasse l’année (L’enfant prodigue). Eileen Farrell, Bernard Hermann, CBS Symphony Orchestra [CBS radio broadcast 05.X.1947]
Franz Lehár, Adrian Ross [English lyric]: Vilia (The Merry Widow). Eileen Farrell, Al Goodman and His Orchestra [1950]
Sammy Fain, Irving Kahal: I’ll Be Seeing You. Eileen Farrell, Al Goodman and His Orchestra, Frank Graham (announcer) [The Prudential Family Hour radio broadcast, 30.VII.1944]
Traditional Irish, Frederick Weatherly: Danny Boy. Eileen Farrell, George Malloy [live New York 12.II.1970]
Farrell made me fall in love with the soprano voice. ❤ And what a beautiful tribute to her and to your mother. My deepest condolences.
Thank you so much, George. Farrell’s is indeed one of the most glorious voices of all time. And I was privileged to use her singing as a way of telling my mother’s story. Many thanks for your good wishes.